Teacher and Caregiver Perspectives on Water Is K’é: An Early Child Education Program to Promote Healthy Beverages among Navajo Children

Carmella B. Kahn, Brianna John, Sonya S. Shin, Rachel Whitman, Asia Soleil Yazzie, Renee Goldtooth-Halwood, Ken Hecht, Christina Hecht, Laura Vollmer, Malyssa Egge, Nora Nelson, Kerlissa Bitah and Carmen George ()
Additional contact information
Carmella B. Kahn: College of Population Health, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Brianna John: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Sonya S. Shin: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Rachel Whitman: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Asia Soleil Yazzie: Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment Program, Gallup, NM 87301, USA
Renee Goldtooth-Halwood: Notah Begay III Foundation, Albuquerque, NM 87004, USA
Ken Hecht: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Christina Hecht: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Laura Vollmer: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Malyssa Egge: Community Member, Bluff, UT 87512, USA
Nora Nelson: DigDeep, Los Angeles, CA 90021, USA
Kerlissa Bitah: T’iis Nazbas Community School, Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514, USA
Carmen George: Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: The Water is K’é program was developed to increase water consumption and decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages for young children and caregivers. The pilot program was successfully delivered by three Family and Child Education (FACE) programs on the Navajo Nation using a culturally centered curriculum between 2020 to 2022. The purpose of this research was to understand teacher and caregiver perspectives of program feasibility, acceptability, impact, and other factors influencing beverage behaviors due to the pilot program. Nine caregivers and teachers were interviewed between June 2022 and December 2022, and a study team of four, including three who self-identified as Navajo, analyzed the data using inductive thematic analysis and consensus building to agree on codes. Five themes emerged, including feasibility, acceptability, impact, suggestions for future use of the program, and external factors that influenced water consumption. The analysis showed stakeholders’ strong approval for continuing the program based on impact and acceptability, and identified factors that promote the program and barriers that can be addressed to make the program sustainable. Overall, the Water is K’é program and staff overcame many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic to support healthy behavior change that had a rippled influence among children, caregivers, teachers, and many others.

Keywords: Indigenous; Navajo; American Indian; early child health; water; sugar-sweetened beverages; community-based participatory research; early child education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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